One of the largest debt buyers in the United States has been ordered to pay nearly $83 million in punitive damages to a Kansas City woman whom it had sued over a $1,000 credit card debt. Portfolio Recovery Associates LLC says it mistakenly pursued Maria Guadalupe Meija (51) in an attempt to collect a debt…

The CFPB (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau) has taken legal action against a military allotment processor who failed to clearly disclose a number of recurring fees to service members. The outcome? Roughly $3.1 million in relief that is to be paid out to affected service members. Fort Knox National Company, along with its subsidiary, Military Assistance Company (MAC),…

In a recent press release, the United States Department of Education (DoED) announced that it is ending contracts with five private debt collectors. This news comes to us in the wake an internal review conducted by the DoED’s Federal Student Aid (FSA) office. The FSA evaluated more than 20 private collection agencies in order to…

Two debt collectors, both headquartered in Buffalo, NY, have had complaints filed against them by the Federal Trade Commission according to a recent press release from the FTC. The FTC, along with the NY State Office of the Attorney General, is suing two separate, Buffalo-based debt collection groups for alleged violations of the Fair Debt Collection…

Reuters reports that, last month, over 100,000 potential plaintiffs were permitted to pursue a class action against a New York-based debt collector and law firm. The claim is that both Leucadia National Corp and the Mel S. Harris law firm were using ‘sewer service‘ to win default judgments in cases against debtors. Sewer service is…

In a recent opinion piece for the New York Times, Executive Vice President and Director of Federal Policy at the Center for Responsible Lending, Gary Kalman, calls upon the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to crack down on standards for payday loans – standards that currently cause more problems for low-income consumers than they resolve….

Are you being harassed by robocalls? You may be entitled to as much as $500 to $1,500 per call. In a recent appearance on Eye Opener (PHL17), our own Craig T. Kimmel took a moment to discuss robocalls, how they affect consumers, and what consumers can do when they’re being abused or harassed by these…

Quantum physics may make future credit cards “impossible to hack,” say the authors of a recent study. As we all know, credit cards in their current state are prone to exploitation. This can cause major headaches for consumers hoping to keep their identities and credit lines out of the hands of cyber crooks. The credit…

Harassing debt collectors seeking payment for “phantom debt” are becoming more common, says the FTC. Thousands of Spanish-speaking consumers were targeted by debt collectors Centro Natural Corp. and Sumore LLC, who tricked them into paying over $2 million in phantom debts. A “phantom debt” is any claim for payment which is too old to collect,…

Earlier today, ABC News reported that phony debt collectors are calling thousands of innocent people across the country, illegally threatening them with jail time and other legal action. If you follow the Credit Law Blog, you’re probably already aware that this is a direct violation of the FDCPA (Fair Debt Collection Practices Act). The FDCPA…